


Mornings

by TheQueerBookworm



Category: Casualty (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:47:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22888054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueerBookworm/pseuds/TheQueerBookworm
Summary: Connie Beauchamp used to love Mornings, a quick run, a healthy breakfast and a good day of managing Holby ED awaits only now her mornings, middays and nights are filled with a certain woman that never seems to go away and for Connie too much is if you talk to her more than once a day.A/N: surprised there is nothing for the Connie/Archie canon that is now stuck in my head so here’s a start
Relationships: Connie Beauchamp/Archie Hudson
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	1. That Morning

The sunrise and a run has always been a good way to start the day. That was till Duffy died and Connie could no longer face her normal morning run through the edge of town with it’s cottages, then the shops and then that bridge. She started running around the bridge and through the park, that was till she saw the infuriating at times but also less infuriating and kind of helpful at other times, Dr Hudson or really now she should call her Archie.   
  


Connie hangs back watching her run and hopes that she doesn’t see her probably slightly creepy staring at her until she is out of view. Not knowing where or what time she runs and not wanting to risk another close encounter, Connie gives up running in favour of a treadmill, less cold in the winter anyways.   
  


Early morning shifts always seemed to be plagued with last nights still drunks leading Connie to question if some of the shabbier looking ones had gone for Menthol over ethanol and a busy change over of mothers not knowing if there kid is sleeping or dying. Thankfullly it’s usually just sleeping.   
  


“Morning Mrs Beauchamp” oh it’s Hudson, That bright white smile and somehow always cheery attitude distracts Connie for a minute and then manages to respond with, “Morning Archie, you seen Noble? Paper was meant to be on my desk half an hour ago which means his shift was meant to start half an hour ago which means he’s also late.”

”Sorry no idea, you want me to see if I can discharge anyone who came in overnight?”

”We could do with the beds” seems to be her way of saying yes purely to get rid of that 100 watt smile. When she sits down at her desk she thinks of that 100 watt smile again then back to the moment just a week ago after the funeral when Archie offered a drink, there was no 100 watt smile then but if she had said yes she would have probably seen it between the alcohol. She’s careful with alcohol after everything in her life the last thing she would want it to confess her deepest secrets because of booze, she imagined Archie would be less so. She’s also becoming surer that she needs to step away from Dr Hudson before she humiliated herself and loses the only thing even remotely close to a friend, not that head-strong, confident, pretty and slightly arrogant could be considered as friendship qualities. Wait she actually admitted that? And now she hopes she didn’t say it out loud and proceeds only to step out of the office to shout at two patients fighting around lunchtime, all day. Now unfortunately this seems to attract the attention of half the department as well as Archie.   
  
  



	2. Home

She goes home to finish her paperwork and sleep. She’s been getting much less of that since Duffy and none the night of the funeral. Connie will not admit to anyone probably even under torture that she went home to cry, as far as the rest of the world knows Connie does not show emotion (well rarely), the only time she doesn’t is to show she still has a heart though probably considered to be medically flawed in empathy at times. 

She undresses then mentally shakes herself to get rid of the thoughts in her head and changes into a more comfortable attire of a tank top and leggings only putting socks on under her slippers incase she wants to go anywhere or gets called in an emergency, what emergency that could be she has no idea she’s glad to be rid of on call weeks as a senior consultant. It’s only when she sits with a cup of tea watching a documentary she recorded at least two weeks ago now that she breathes. She breathes out the day of a a stuffy hospital, high heels, Henrik bloody Hansen and Hudson.   
  


Hansen, Annoying. Hudson, less so to her. When Connie feels herself slipping in any direction she normally takes the weakness out on double shifts, rolling her sleeves up and getting on the hospital floor or the wine in the wine rack. Tonight it’s the wine in the wine rack. Pouring herself a large glass of What she believes to be Australian branded Shiraz makes her feel a little better about herself but what is there to feel better about when you live in a big house alone, your daughter and ex-husband on a different continent and you may not hate the woman you might ,silently as to not wake some sort of devil, sort of like?   
  


Amd what what happens when that woman you don’t hate shows up at your door at 10pm? She knows it’s Archie by the peep hole in the front door and suddenly feels naked in slippers and leggings. She questions if Archie would go away if she didn’t answer the door but then again who A) was out at 10pm and B) was still wearing work clothes especially her Louboutins, 4 hours after they finished work. It made her feel slightly less naked and just a bit more underdressed but it wasn’t like she was going to dinner, this is her home and she’s estimate at least 70% of the daytime working population of the UK had pyjamas on by now. Anyway who shows up at 10pm? Her shift finished at the same time. 


	3. Night

Connie steps to the door, deciding the worst thing she could do was ignore the woman who clearly made some sort of effort to be here as she is not sure how or when she found out where she lives. The last time someone found out where she lived who she didn’t tell herself, she moved.   
  


“Archie, what are you doing here so late, it’s past 10” 

“Just wanted to check in with you Mrs Beauchamp, I saw how you were working in your office all day was just wondering if you’ve got any department problems we could spread across senior staff to take some of the pressure off” ok she is considerate too, maybe getting rid of this house won’t be such a bad thing if it comes to it.   
  
”No, I just had lots of the desk job side to clear up. Before you go do you mind me asking how you found my address?” Just checking is she needs to contact her estate agent friend in the morning.   
  


“Oh I asked Charlie, sorry about that” 

“Odd that you could have just knocked on my office door...” She thinks for a moment at looks at the sober looking woman stood on her doorstep in a chilly January with her dark hair almost blending with the sky if not illuminated by the porch lights. She then makes a decision she knows she will probably pay for later but shes sure she can work something out by tomorrow to shut her up about this next decision.   
“would you like to come in for a drink?”   
“If thats ok? Thank you.” Ok she never expected her to accept it and suddenly starts mentally mapping out her home for any mess or imperfection. When she leads Archie through to the open plan kitchen and living room she grabs another glass and motions for her to sit down anywhere she pleases and hands her the glass along with the bottle taken from the table.   
  


“I can only have the one mind you, I’m driving home and we’ve got to be semi conscious in the morning to get the handover from the night staff that are genetically closer to moths.” Archie tells her

  
“More like vampires” she chuckles back and actually finds herself smiling again. 

“Is this the new documentary lead by the BMJ on senior doctors and management?” Archie asks seeing the documentary though now on mute upon hearing the doorbell still running.  
“Yes it is, lost track of it now though” Archie seems to make her comfortable pickin go up the remote from close to Connie’s leg (which is slightly too close to comfort for Connie, though Archie in her home at 10pm is too close). She hits rewind and puts it back to the start, Connie remembers getting a little over half an hour in before the doorbell but realised it’s enough of an opportunity to pretend to watch it and instead watch Archie while she’s actually fully interested in it. Did she actually just think that and hopefully not aloud though thankfully Archie still seems interested in the Tv so maybe, luckily, she didn’t verbalise it. She hopes for the night to go a little faster since Archie can only have one drink and she won’t find her passes out on the sofa then in her kitchen drinking coffee in the morning. 

At how was gone by midnight, stating the Shiraz and the first half of the documentary was great but she also needs to sleep to function as a doctor and if she drinks anymore then she’ll end up as a patient or in prison if she‘s not careful. Connie bids her goodnight before finally deciding to go change again into pyjamas as and attempt to get some sleep.

However Connie knew sleep was never easy anymore. Some nights she could switch off to get a good nights rest, other nights it seemed near impossible and tonight seemed to be one of the latter. 

She finds herself propelled though memories that are years old from people she has not talked to since those days. She’s pretty sure she still has some of her estranged alliances numbers in her contacts along with a few people no longer with us. She thinks how the times have changed but she never seems to, she come back to the same battle and in her working life anyway (her school life was a complete other matter) she finds this is the third time that this will haunt her. She seems to have a system now to prevent her getting hurt, do something she regrets, actually that was more her school days, now it’s more about thinking something she knows no sane person in her position would then go get revenge. By revenge her means a revenge on her own thoughts, hurt the person she starts to become friends with and push them out of reach, if her ice queen exterior makes them hate her then she sees no chance. The first time that happened she was arrested for murder though out of spite.


	4. Sunrise

At 1am the usual thing Connie Beauchamp would be doing in sleeping, only tonight she scrolling though photos on her phone. Some she finds she did not even know she had taken, years old and probably moved around her phones with the automatic backup system. They provide a small window into herself and who she was. She swears she stops breathing for a second upon discoveries of funny pictures with Grace and the poodle she decided to take with her. She never thought she’d say she could have done with a dog right now for company. She finds pictures with Zoe, Dylan and one of Cal clearly from one of the few times that decade she graced the hope and anchor.   
  


She moves onto her contacts not wanting to dig any further than that and finds that she seems to have people from half way across the world who she forgot. Dr Barlow from New Zealand, Dr Spink (a neurosurgeon and an at least decade old haunt of her days in America) and many old colleagues here in Holby, sadly Cal no longer with us (though he was buried with his phone, the battery would be undeniably dead or corroded by now and he couldn’t answer anyway), Rita whom she had not spoken two in at least two years and Elle. She had spoken to Elle just last month, it seemingly helped to fill the silence one night on FaceTime with her, the call originally just being for Elle to check if she was doing ok turned into a 4 hour conversation. Before the usual wake up call of the sunrise Connie decides she cannot stand to lay there any longer and though drained she drags herself to the kitchen. She barely took half the time off someone of her status had for major illness when she had cancer so a day off now would be highly suspicious. After enough coffee to wake a Horse and changing into some comfortable but smart clothing she stands against the kitchen island checking the time on her phone and seeing Ellie’s contact still up on her phone from last night put it straight back into her pocket before moving it to her bag on the island as so not to lose it. Once her louboutins are located and put on she steps out to her car, though knowing she will be around 2 hours early she doesn’t seem to care as she can get some paperwork done and avoid the gossip of the juniors during the handover aswell as Archie.

Now through the paperwork and the shift handover causing chaos outside Connie chooses to stay seated and watch the nurses scurry around through her office window. She gets the fright of her life however when Archies head peers round the window to see if Connie is in. She only hopes that Archie doesn’t want to come in but she has no such luck.   
“Morning Mrs Beauchamp, I’ve just got two papers the senior consultant on the handover wants you to sign off on”   
“Ok pass them over” Connie quickly signs both and hands them back, she could be signing her life away for all she cares but she wants Archie out of her office before it gets uncomfortable for her.   
“Thanks and Thank you for the drink last night I enjoyed it, maybe we could finish that documentary sometime?” She suggests   
“That would be nice, I’m sure we can arrange something” Connie tells her because no matter how unsteady Archie makes her feel she did appreciate the company.   
Archie takes a few step to the door before turning back around, “Are you okay? You look tired, are you sure there’s nothing wrong?”  
“No, just didn’t sleep too well, right I’m going to get to writing this Yearly report but find me if we have any serious incidents or you need a hand out there.”  
“Okay” Ar his says before turning out of her office and thankfully shutting the door.   
“Find me if you need me” Connie mentally süße herself for her word choice, she should have said if anyone needs her not just Archie. Just 6 months ago they hated each other what has happened to her?

She’s broken from her thoughts by the sound of her ringtone and picks up her phone, it’s Elle.


	5. Friends

She debates weither to pick it up but also knows Elles persistence, the last time she ignored her she kept calling every hour till Connie picked up.   
“Morning Elle” 

“First try too I think that deserves a medal” Elle chuckles down the phone, “You called me earlier this morning, is there something wrong? Normally I have to call you and check your not dead.”   
“Did I? Oh, I think I might have pocket dialled you sorry.”   
“It’s ok, actually while I’ve got you, how’s the ED doing?”   
“Good thanks, we’ve got the yearly report and review on the emergency theatre coming up and ever got some great new senior doctors in at the moment.”   
“that’s good to hear, I heard about Duffy’s passing, I’m sorry Connie.”

”It’s been a shock and a hard few weeks but I heard the service was beautiful”

”you didn’t go?!”   
“I wanted to but someone had to keep this place in order”

Connie hopes her voice didn’t waiver at the mention of Duffy again.  
“Hang on a second Connie” Elle tells her and hangs up which Connie thinks is rather rude especially since she has no explanation. But by the time she has her train of thought Elle is back up on her screen and she wants to FaceTime. 

“So that was your hang on a second? You do know there’s a button to switch to this right?” Connie tells her  
“No but thanks for telling me that, hang on you in your office, it isn’t like you not to be out there.”  
“Just got paperwork to do”  
“Oh do you remember when you came back and I left it all to you because I did not want to mess it up and I didn’t even know where to start there seemed so much.”  
“That’s a Fine art to my job, you see it with how many have failed.”  
“Your the best and only option for the ED to stay afloat your back where you belong”  
“Have you got the day off?”  
“Yes, Blake’s still doing my head in with driving him to university interviews and campus tours.”  
“They grow up fast, Grace will be 15 next year and Blake is your youngest”  
“I know, might finally get some peace if I’m especially lucky but I doubt it” Elle tells her and Connie thinks to the consistent peace and quiet in her home that can get kind of lonely at times.

“Right I better let you get back to your work if your doing good, you don’t want Hansen breathing down your neck again”  
“Urghhh...” Connie groans at the mention of him 

An hour later and she’s holding her head wondering if her oncoming headache is just that from the computer or the stress or it’s a migraine coming on.

“Mrs Beauchamp we’ve got an RTC coming in with an ETA of 6 minutes for the first wave, I’ve put you with Archie in Resus If you can spare the time, I’m going to be focusing on any Paediatric cases and overseeing nurses in cubicles” Dr Noble pokes his head round the door not even daring to step in.   
“Ok Dr Noble I’ll be ready” She slips her louboutins back On which were just beside her under the desk, grabs her stethoscope and gets ready to head out and face not only Archie but an RTC too. 

“Right This is Poppy Franklin, age 18, was impaired by shrapnel of one of the vechiles as a pedestrian, gcs of 8, oxygen stats are normal, 500mg of morphine given at the scene”   
“Ok thank you Jan we can take her from here”   
“Right Poppy I’m just going to start by checking out the area of your leg to see if there has been any bone damage as we might need to send you for an X-ray” ... 

Nearly an hour later and after switching patients with Archie to check out a possible nemothorax on Mr Collins, Poppy is back from nth every backlogged X-ray and there is no bone damage so I’ll probably just get a nurse to take out the shrapnel after giving another 500mg of morphine and suture.   
“Mrs Beachamp we have no available nurse here but we could go to triage?” Dr Hudson tells me   
“No bed in triage I got the porter who brought her back to Check with Dr Noble.”  
“Ok, I can do if you want me to and you can take over Mrs Collins?”   
“No I’ll do it, you stick to Mrs Collins because if her oxygen levels drop she might need to be intubated”   
“Ok Mrs Beauchamp” 

“Right Poppy I’m going to give you a topical anaesthetic to numb the are with the shrapnel, it doesn’t look too bad an only two look like they require stitches so the scaring shouldn’t be too bad, is that ok?”  
“Yes”   
“Right if you don’t like needles I suggests you close your eyes in a moment till you feel a sharp sting” I hear her inhale when the needle goes in  
“Right Thats all done, any questions?”   
I see her smile which is wierd for someone with shrapnel of a car sticking out their leg but it could be the morphine   
“Do you know what doctor over there?”   
“Oh Dr Hudson”   
“Yes, are you two a couple? It’s might just be my gaydar going off it’s hinges”  
“We’re not together”  
“Shame it’s normally quite accurate, I think you’d make a good couple” I just smile and hope Archie was too busy to here Poppy’s quiet ramble. Within twenty minutes I have her stitched up and get a porter to find a wheelchair and crutches as she insists on getting her prescription for some painkillers and getting back to university as she’s already missed her morning lecture, reminds me of myself in that regard. 

It’s only after touching bases with all of my staff and the rush of the RTC has calmed down that I get to slip back into my office just in time with my lunch break to breathe. I can’t get over what that girl said though, I know it’s not right, we’re not together but she clearly felt something and then she said it was normally accurate. What’s happening here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in this chapter I’ve been in mocks this past week (Hope I haven’t failed) but hopefully I will get some more free time to write now. A little upset by this Saturdays ending but hopeful for Archie to return at some point but regardless of that this ship still lives to me. 
> 
> Another update since I wrote the one above and do I need to say much more than coronavirus, so now got way too much free time and thought I’d write another chapter to cheer myself and hopefully you guys up a little while we are dealing with a global panic.


End file.
